Vietnam Stocks Fall as Rally Drives Valuations to One-Month High

Bloomberg News

March 22, 2013, 4:05 AM EDT

Vietnam stocks fell, snapping a three-day advance that drove valuations on the benchmark index to a one-month high.

The Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange’s VN Index fell 0.4 percent to 489.99 at the close. It climbed 2.6 percent in the past three days, driving the gauge’s valuation to 13.8 times reported profit, the highest level since Feb. 20. Bao Viet Holdings, the national’s biggest listed insurer, lost 2 percent to the lowest level since Feb. 27.

Stocks have climbed this week as online newswire CafeF reported March 20 that consumer prices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City dropped 0.21 and 0.29 percent respectively in March versus February. The State Bank of Vietnam cut the refinancing rate and discount rate by one percentage point on Dec. 24.

“As inflation slows in the two biggest cities, inflation for the nation would be slow this month, giving more room for the central bank to cut interest rates further,” Giang Trung Kien, Hanoi-based head of research at FPT Securities Joint-Stock Co., said by phone today. News that commercial lenders have lowered dong deposit rates also drove the rate-cut rumors, Kien said.